Obama ‘Uneasy’ Over Indefinite Detention Without Charges

During his interview today with the Associated Press, President Barack Obama said that he’s “uneasy” about the proposal to indefinitely imprison some of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay without charges, adding that “it gives me huge pause.”

The president seemed likely to eventually approve of the detentions, however, saying that “we’re going to proceed very carefully,” but he did say it was at least possible that he won’t feel comfortable with the proposals at the end and may choose to go in a different direction. He said the situation “is going to be one of the biggest challenges of my administration.”

The administration has been floating the prospect of indefinite detention without trial to Congress for over a month, and has reportedly eyed the creation of a system of National Security Courts to provide some legal basis for the heretofore extralegal detentions.

The Obama Administration has struggled with how to handle the massive detention system it inherited, and after pledging to close the Guantanamo Bay facility has resumed the tribunals there, and even raised the prospect of offering “voluntary” executions to some of the detainees to avoid the uncomfortable situation of holding them without charges.